Former White Sox scout pleads guilty in kickback scheme

Three staffers accused of inflating signing bonuses of Latin American baseball players

March 10, 2011|By Becky Schlikerman, Tribune reporter

A former Chicago White Sox scout pleaded guilty Thursday to mail fraud as part of a kickback scheme that led to three Sox staffers pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from poor Latin American prospects hoping to make it big in baseball.

Victor Mateo, along with another scout and a White Sox executive, was accused of fraudulently inflating the signing bonuses of Latin American prospects and then had the players kick back the extra money to them, authorities said. The trio pocketed about $400,000 over more than three years, authorities alleged.

Mateo pleaded guilty to mailing an unnamed player a $70,000 signing-bonus check in November 2007 — part of executing the scheme, according to Mateo's plea agreement.

When asked by U.S. District Judge Charles Norgle if he understood the charges, Mateo, through a translator, said, "Yes, it did happen. That's what I did."

Federal authorities said the kickback scheme was hidden from the Sox and the team's "more senior officials."

Mateo, hired by co-defendant Jorge Oquendo Rivera in 2006, also had to pay his own kickbacks.

When he was hired, Mateo agreed to provide Oquendo with every third paycheck he received from the White Sox and, eventually, $1,000 monthly in expense reimbursements from the baseball team, according to the plea agreement.

The Dominican Republic national is cooperating in the case, according to the plea agreement. He faces up to 21 months in prison.

Mateo surrendered to U.S. authorities Thursday. He was released on bond and was expected to travel back to the Dominican Republic, where his son is ill.

A sentencing date has not been set.

Mateo, Oquendo and former White Sox executive David Wilder were indicted in November.